An experimental and numerical investigation of energy absorption of sportswear in seam area

This study aims to investigate the energy absorption of seam areas in sportswear. Weft knitted fabrics with two structures of plain and rib were fabricated by polyester/Lycra and viscose/ Lycra yarns. Fabrics were stitched in two stitch classes. Moreover, two types of seams were considered. A pull-out test was carried out on all samples to determine the energy absorption values. Furthermore, a finite element model was applied to predict the energy absorption of each structure. The unit cell of each sample was created in ABAQUS software and the tensile load was applied to the stitch yarn. The unit cells of the fabric and the stitched section were modeled in the meso-scale and then elastic and viscoelastic properties of the yarns were assigned to the model. The energy absorption of the sample with rib pattern, lapped seam, and 607 stitch class was more than other samples. Also, the numerical and experimental results showed a high correlation with each other in samples with 304 stitch class and flat seam type.